In the art of joining adjacent or opposed portions of a garment together, numerous assemblies are known for releasably linking the garment snugly about a portion of the wearer's body. The term "garment" is used in the sense of wearing apparel, as well as orthopedic or medical appliances such as bandages, braces, or the like which are wrapped around a portion of the wearer's body; i.e., the torso, arm, leg, neck, etc.
As it is usually necessary for one single size garment to be adapted to embrace different sized patients, one confronting portion of the garment is usually provided with one or more flexible straps, and the opposed garment portion is provided with a like number of buckles for receiving and snugly securing the straps. To maintain the desired degree of tightness in the garment, many fastening devices are known in the art. The relatively recent introduction of hook and loop fasteners sold under the trademark VELCRO has greatly enhanced the prior art concerning strap fasteners. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,107, issued to Robert R. Moore on Jan. 10, 1973.
Hook and loop fasteners are much more easily parted by normal tension than by shear force. It is therefore important to utilize such fasteners so that the tension thereon is minimized, and so that shear forces cannot be converted to tension applied normally to the confronting fastener portions. At the same time means must be provided for facilitating closure of the fastener exactly at the desired strap disposition. This is essential particularly in the medical appliance field.